San Diego County’s red-hot housing market cooled off in July, with the median home price slipping after hitting a record high in June. Sales slowed too, as mortgage rates remained high.
A Record High, Then a Pullback
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the county’s median home price fell to $920,000 in July, down from a reported record of $930,000 in June, according to Attom Data Solutions figures cited in that report. Separately, data from a Union-Tribune report pegged June’s record median at $923,080, while Redfin reported a July median sale price of $937,251, up 2% year over year. Prices and sales both eased back from June’s pace.
Home sales in the county totaled 2,210 in July, down 62 from the previous month, the same report notes. That slowdown followed a surprisingly strong June, when the county recorded 3,839 home sales — the most in a single month since September 2021, according to the earlier Union-Tribune report on the June record.
Buyers Feeling Squeezed From Every Direction
Jenna Hollander, a San Diego real estate agent who works primarily downtown and in nearby communities, said affordability has been the single biggest concern she’s heard from potential buyers for at least four months. She said buyers increasingly feel the combined weight of their monthly costs makes committing to a purchase harder than it used to be, noting that gas and groceries were more affordable just two years earlier.
Mortgage rates remain a concern for buyers weighing affordability.
Mortgage Rates Stay Stubbornly High
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average ended July at 6.66%, according to Freddie Mac figures cited in the Union-Tribune report, before climbing to a high of 7.4% in October. Rates dipped slightly to 7.32% as of Oct. 22, down from 7.40% the week before but still well above the 6.19% recorded a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac data reported by GlobeNewswire.
Inventory told a similar story of a market in retreat. San Diego County had 8,074 homes for sale in July, 415 fewer than the year before, per Redfin.
Fewer Bidding Wars Than the Boom Years
Just 32% of San Diego County homes sold above asking price in July, Redfin reported, a steep drop from around 80% back in 2022 when the market was at its frothiest. Still, the county’s home prices rank among the highest in the nation.
By property type, the median single-family home price in San Diego County was $1.1 million in July, up 7.8% year over year, while the median townhouse and condo price was $643,000, down 1.5% annually. September figures from the San Diego MLS showed the gap persisting, with detached homes at a median of $1,079,000, up 5.8% year over year, compared with $670,000 for attached homes, down 0.2%.
San Diego Lags Behind Other Southern California Counties
San Diego’s price growth has consistently trailed the rest of the state and nation this year. The county’s 2% price growth in July lagged the national growth rate of 3%, per Redfin.
Other Southern California counties showed a mixed picture in July. Los Angeles County’s median home price was $888,120, down 2.4% monthly and 2.6% annually, while Orange County’s median reached $1.22 million, down 2.4% monthly but up 3.4% annually. Riverside County posted a median of $605,000, up 1.7% monthly, San Bernardino County came in at $533,500, and Ventura County’s median was $848,500, down 1.3% monthly and 1.9% annually.
September Sales
Rising living costs aren’t helping matters. San Diego County recorded 1,939 home sales in September.
